POSTED: Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

Less money should be spent on wars, defense

As a member of the House Budget Committee, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen sets priorities for federal spending. He is entrusted with the task of creating a budget that promotes national security and the well-being of American families.

I do not envy this responsibility. Legislators realize that every competing line item represents people with different needs. They are under dual pressure to cut discretionary funds that support vulnerable social programs and to increase funding for the U.S. military.

Congress and Larsen recently approved a 2010 Fiscal Year defense budget of $687 billion for war, nuclear weapons, and Pentagon operations. In addition, it is estimated that the cost of sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan will exceed $30 billion in 2010. Citizens in Larsen's district are concerned about the Pentagon's command of our fiscal resources. Our political leadership must see beyond military might as its comprehensive solution to 21st century challenges.

Martin Luther King, Jr. warned us about this trajectory: "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." Instead of spending another $2.3 trillion on war over the next 10 years, our political leaders should invest in a security strategy that is diversified and centered on human health and flourishing.

In King's absence, it falls on us to teach Larsen and his colleagues how to take our nation back from the brink of impending spiritual death.

The disparity between military and social spending is in itself a defeat for our nation. For example, the Army spends $1 million to send one soldier to Iraq or Afghanistan for a single year. Yet when a soldier returns to civilian society, he is lucky to get a minimum wage job with health benefits. While taxpayers continue to spend billions on war, nearly 50 million people are not getting enough to eat.

Furthermore, excessive defense spending undermines our elected officials' important work. Larsen's recent partnership with U.S. Sen. Patty Murray successfully resulted in a much-needed veterans' healthcare clinic here in Northwest Washington. Providing such vital services would be easier if federal money were refocused on meeting human needs.

As it stands, our nation's spending priorities are antithetical to American values. To remedy this, Larsen must lead the effort to divert a significant portion of U.S. military spending to programs of social uplift.

However, it takes more than one person to re-imagine and innovate long-standing systems of injustice. Therefore, as part of a coordinated campaign, constituents across the country are asking each of our nation's senators and representatives to reexamine budget priorities. Specifically, we are asking members of the House Budget Committee to hold a set of hearings on how our government can fund non-military security solutions. These hearings should address diplomacy and development, human needs, and the environment.

Military force should not be the default approach on Capitol Hill. Long-term security cannot come from militarism anymore than household serenity can come from a handgun on the nightstand. With the Pentagon budget expected to increase by 25 per cent in the next decade, it is vital for Congress to begin reshaping our nation within a framework of social justice as King envisioned decades ago. It is time to stem our reliance on military force and to expand the methodologies we use in our pursuit of human security.

Dwight D. Eisenhower lamented: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

It is within Larsen's power to adjust this misalignment of priorities. At this historical juncture, every moment presents a critical choice for us and our leaders: Do we, as a nation, continue to formulate military responses that lead to unending war, or do we instead take a risk and invest in human development that leads to peace?

Marie Marchand is executive director of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center and a member of "Our Nation's Checkbook" campaign.